Over The Love
by Pinkcatsinspace
Summary: In Past, Present, Future, we see Ziva's devastating departure. Now, she's back in DC in the spec ops division. Do Tony and Ziva cross paths again, what's going to go down? Tiva heavy. Tag to 11X02. Previously, Pinkcatsfromouterspace.
1. Chapter 1

**H-how's it going readers,**

**My first fic back! It's all very exciting! I might've lost my touch in writing but i hope writing re-ignites my old fanfiction-author-self (if that makes any sense).**

**It's a Tiva fic to help me soothe the heartache of post 11X02. I have never cried so hard at the sinking of a ship before, Tiva is by far the only ship capable of shattering my heart and breaking me down.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this fic and without further ado, I present...**

**Over the love: Chapter 1:**

"Mornin' McGoo, Probie." Tony greeted his two fellow agents.

The sun shone down upon the NCIS bullpen as bright as ever, it was June and the season of summer. Tony slid his shades slickly onto his head and did a little twirl before settling down to his familiar spot in the bullpen.

"Do you always have to make such a panache entrance Tony?" McGee sighed

"I'm not Anthony Dinozzo for nothing am I?" he snapped back.

"Why am I still probie? I've been here almost a year now." questioned the team's most junior agent, officer Gordon Ford.

"He just needs someone to bother Gordon. Leave him be." Replied McGee.

"Esqueeze me guys, Gordon here hasn't been through the rites of passage,"

"The what of what...?" Gordon questioned timidly.

"To advance from probie to...whatever it is I want to address you,"

The resounding "ping" of the elevator cut the conversation short, the three agents snapped back to work.

The functional mute stepped out of the elevator and strode into the bullpen with his usual dose of coffee. The coffee aficionado walked past the empty desk opposite Tony's and plopped down on his own.

It was tacit by all previous and current agents that the desk opposite Tony's would remain vacant for as long as it should be. It was a year since Ziva David, the woman who stepped in nine years ago and turned the team's world upside down, left. The lingering ache could still be felt by her teammates and especially by Tony.

It was the kiss, the kiss that changed Tony's world. Till this day, the thought of it made him blush. Although he never spoke about what happened in Israel, even Jimmy, could tell that something big went down in the Middle East.

Gibbs stood up and announced, "Dead petty officer found in a field in Maryland, grab yer gear ladies."

The three agents scrambled for their field equipment and scurried like the three blind mice behind the silver haired fox.

The very same time, unknown location,

The special operations headquarters somewhere In DC was buzzing with activity, paper cups of coffee being passed around, files flying all over the place and the shuffling of feet and the clacking of heels echoed the office. In the sea of people, one of the most deadly and freshest agents, Ziva David, was scanning through the file of one the agency's most wanted criminal, Brian Jameson.

In a mere time frame, Ziva managed to escalate up the ranks of an agent rapidly, she was the agency's sharp end of the spear as they call her (thanks to her history of being a Mossad and NCIS agent). She got promoted and was the leader of a team.

*Flashback*

Two months after Tony left, Ziva decided that she had finished all her business in her homeland and began to grow homesick. She was an American citizen after all.

So Ziva decided to pack up and leave her makeshift apartment here in Israel and pursue what they call the American dream again. Only this time she wouldn't be heading back to NCIS but to the Special Ops division, they had offered her a position (God knows how they tracked her down). Besides, it wouldn't be fair to the NCIS team and to Tony, to just sway in and out of their lives if she decided to join again.

"Hardest 180 of my life," like a broken recorder, the phrase kept replaying itself in Ziva's head.

That was the last thing Tony had ever said to her, she unconsciously brushed her neck, feeling the emptiness of where her Star of David used to be.

She bid farewell to the landlady and her neighbours and hailed a cab heading for the airport.

*End of flashback*

"Agent David, we got a hit!" the agency's technician beckoned Ziva over frantically.

Ziva jogged over and leaned over the computer screen,

"Jameson was seen hanging around Georgetown, he managed to avoid most of the street cameras but he got careless and missed out one."

Ziva was already mashing keys and assembling her team,

"We got him, Georgetown in five, low profile everyone."

With that, Ziva went to grab her gear and sped off in her car.

Back at NCIS,

"Dinozzo, sketching, McGee, questioning, Ford you're with me." Gibbs barked out his orders and his team set to their tasks momentously.

"Talk to me Duck, what've you got?"

"Ah, Jethro. The cause of death is a classic gunshot wound to the forehead, our Petty officer here was tied up and made to be on his knees, I would say this was conducted execution style."

"So this was done by a pro?"

"That is correct indeed Jethro. The killer deliberately conducted the murder in an open area, the humid weather speeds up decomposition thus making it harder for myself and Mr Palmer to pinpoint a time of death. He also scraped of this Petty officer's fingertips making it harder to identify him. But we still have his dental records rest assured."

Jimmy wheeled in the gunnery. Ford was scribbling notes feverishly and after a quick sweep of the open field and more questioning, the team packed up and headed back to the headquarters.

Two hours later

Gibbs walked into the bullpen back from his afternoon coffee run, immediately demanding information from his team. They gathered that he was a petty officer stationed in Virginia and that he was generally a quiet person who kept to himself and was close to another officer, Brian Jameson.

"What do we know about the friend?" Gibbs asked

"Not much boss, he's been off the radar for quite a while now. Supposedly taking a long-term break from work." Ford replied

"Anyone know why?"

"Negative boss but he was pretty insistent about it according to some of his fellow workmates."

"We got him!" McGee announced

As if on cue, the others gathered at McGee's desk and narrowed their eyes at the screen.

"Took me a while, but I tracked his cell phone, but it was turned off so I…" McGee rambled on but cut himself off at Gibbs' mirthless expression.

"But you don't really care and the point is that I nabbed him around Georgetown, just sent GPS location to your phones."

"Dinozzo, Ford, move." Gibbs gestured for the agents to go.

"On it," Tony and Gordon made a quick dive for the elevator.

Georgetown,

Ziva was poised and ready to strike at a moment's notice. The ops have been tracking Jameson for close to 4 months now and she wasn't ready to let him out of her grasp so easily.

The rest of her team were in plainclothes and scoping the neighbourhood. Ziva was just getting restless in her sedan and was just about to doze off when one of her team mates called in.

"Target spotted four o'clock from Ziva's car. Target is on high alert and observant, approach with caution."

"Roger that," Ziva responded restlessly.

Ziva whipped out her binoculars and zoomed in on the target; he was at a café and was reading the paper while looking around.

"Target appears to be expecting some company," Ziva concluded through her microphone.

Tony and Gordon stepped out of their black sedan and surveyed the area.

"There he is, he appears to be expecting some company, let's go say hi."

Tony and Gordon started moving in towards Jameson.

"Who are those two idiots moving towards tango?"

Ziva shifted her vision and noticed two men clad in black suits heading towards Jameson. She immediately recognised Tony, her heart skipped a beat and she started swearing in Hebrew.

"Ben elef! Harah!" Ziva swore.

"What do we do boss what do we do?"

Jameson immediately spotted Tony and Gordon and made a run for it.

"Tango is making a move! I repeat tango is on the move!"

"NO NO NO NO! Ya man manyak!" Ziva yelled

Tony and Gordon immediately began pursuit.

"We need a plan boss!"

"Let tango go, he's too quick. Get the two, Lech Laazazel."

"I didn't get that last phrase but copy that."

*Tony and Gordon's POV*

"He's making a run for it!" Tony yelled

Soon, the two agents were hot on Jameson's heels and were giving chase.

They just narrowed the gap and were inches away from nabbing him when the two agents felt a bag being placed over their heads and the world went dark.

Tony started to retaliate and struggle against the forces holding him back until he felt a gun being jammed into his back.

"You're gonna stop struggling and come with us because we're the good guys, if you so much as move I will pull the trigger on both you and your rookie partner over there."

"Do you people have any idea who I am? I am very special agent…"

"Yeah yeah, we'll have time for formalities later."

"What do you want from us?" he asked carefully

Tony felt his pockets and holsters being searched; his gun and phone were seized from him.

"Let's leave that for when we actually see each other face to face. Now move."

There was a crash as Tony and Gordon's phones were broken.

"I just got a new plan!" complained Tony.

Tony felt the force of being shoved, he silently complied and went along.

In the van,

"Alright boss, got em, now what?"

"See you at HQ in 10."

Tony recognised that voice, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Could it be…?"

**So here's where I'll stop for now, let me know what you think, dig it, diss it, whatever you want. But don't jump to conclusions too soon. Thanks for reading! **

**If you do have any questions, you can PM, tumblr ask or tweet me :)**

**-Pinkcatsinspace**

**(Does 11X02 still make anyone bawl like a baby till this day?)**


	2. Chapter 2

**H-how's it going readers,**

**Thanks for all youur support in the last chapter! It really means a lot to me despite being a meagre but adorable amount of reviews and follows but I think we'll get there one day. Besides, 17 follows on a basis of a day isn't all that bad. I'm very enocuraged and besides, this is my comeback story. I'm deeply moticated to finish the story!**

**PS: The dead Petty officer's name is Michael Sanders**

**I look forward to hearing from you guys more! **

**Enough chit chat, onto the story!**

**Over the love: Chapter 2:**

Tony started tapping his foot impatienty on the floor and heard the sound radiate throughout the empty room.

His hands were cufed to the metal table, he was getting fidgety and nervous. He was pretty much used to being on the other side of the glass or on the interogating side of the table.

"Is someone gonna come in and ask me some questions or what?! I know someone's there!" Tony yelled at the glass.

*On the reverse side of the glass*

"Boss you know this guy?" one of Ziva's teamates questioned.

"Yeah, we worked together a long time ago,"

"Must be awkward huh?"

"A little to be honest, this guy, he was something else." A quick flasback of the kiss flashed through Ziva's thoughts and she flushed slightly.

*Back to the interogation room*

Tony just started table drumming when the room doors opened and an agent rushed in,

"Well it's only been eight years what's the big rush now?" Tony snapped saracstically.

"Tony Dinozzo, senior field agent at NCIS for close to 12 years now."

"Go ahead and tell me things I already know."

"You've been working on a case, involving Petty officer Sanders."

"I think it would be really funny if he became a colonel then he would be colonel Sanders."

"We would like any information you have pertaining to this case."

All Tony did was return the request with a look of utter shock,

"Are you kidding me? First you sieze me and my partner here, now you want information about the case? What kind of monkey business is this? I want to speak to whoever's in charge."

"Please agent Dinozzo, don't make this difficult for us..."

"I demand the person in charge." And gave a look of finality, he leaned back in his chair and gave a stoic look.

"And these cuffs are a nightmare, get them off if you will."

The agent sighed in defeat and left the room.

Half an hour later,

Another agent entered the room and uncuffed Tony. He rubbed his aching wrists and looked up at the agent.

"Do I get to meet the man in charge now?"

"Oh you would be surprised,"

The agent escorted Tony into another room where he was reunited with Gordon again.

"Take a seat agents Dinozzo and Ford, our team leader will be with you soon."

This room was much more comfortable, with a lounge chair and a coffee machine, it reminded Tony of the staff lounge back at the NCIS headquarters.

Ford was the one to break the silence,

"What the hell have we gotten ourselves into now?"

Outside the lounge,

Ziva was pacing up and down nervously outside the lounge. She was a nervous train wreck, thoughts spiralling all over the place.

"Would you calm down boss?"

"I am fine, I just need some time to gather my van of thoughts."

"Train, train of thoughts boss." Her team mate corrected.

"Same difference,"

"Anyway, we're wasting time here, just take a deep breath and go in."

"Fine, fine, fine, fine," Ziva said

She walked to the doorknob and placed her hand on the cool metal. She whispered a small Hebrew prayer and walked in. Heart racing at a million miles per second.

She was going to see the man she loved after all.

Tony heard the knob turning and straightened his tie, he sat up straight in an attempt to look smart. However, when Ziva came stepping through the door. He was baffled.

Ziva felt time stop as she looked at the man she once desired so badly, the man she had craved in her two months in Israel. The man who did the hardest 180 of his life on her.

The room fell into total silence as Tony and Ziva gazed at each other. Silence was never this loud.

"Ehem, I'm agent Ford and this is special agent…" Gordon began

Ziva snapped out of her trance and into her mode of proffesionalism.

"Agents Dinozzo and Ford, I'm agent David from the special operations division."

Tony finally found his voice and spoke,

"What the hell Ziva. What the hell?!"

Ziva ignored this and continued,

"Both our agencies, NCIS and the special operations are on the hunt for the same target, officer Brian jameson, he is the division's most wanted man for four months now and we finally hammered him until you intercepted our pick up."

"The term is nailed Ziva, nailed him." Tony corrected habitually.

"Yes that,"

"How come you didn't call? Or let any of us know you're back?"

"How come you intercepted my pickup?" challenged Ziva.

"Ho-oh-kay people, cool it down…" Said Gordon as the tension continued to escalate.

"Was that black bag trick meant to be a message, because it sure as hell reminded me of Somalia if that was what you meant."

Ziva flinched,

"You play dirty Dinozzo," she commented with a venomous tone

"There is a palpable tension rising in this room and we all need to cool it down…"

Ziva and Tony were both glaring daggers at each other and you could cut the tension with a knife at this point.

Gordon stood in between the two and turned towards Ziva,

"So agent David, what exactly is it you want from us?" he asked in a friendly tone

"My boss has requested that the two agencies collaborate together, we get our guy, your case is solved, killing two pigeons with one stone."

Tony scoffed and muttered, "Birds, it's killing two birds with one stone,"

Gordon ignored that and continued,

"Alright, let us get back to our HQ and you can contact our director for the necessary arrangements."

"Okay,"

Gordon held out his hand for a shake, Ziva returned the gesture with a warm smile much to Tony's displeasure.

"I hope we forge a productive partnership," Ziva stated.

"Likewise," Gordon returned

When Tony noticed that their hands were held for too long he grabed Gordon and dragged him out of the room.

"See you around then!" Gordon hastily replied.

Ziva gave a small wave and they were gone.

In the NCIS car,

"What was that about?" Ford started

"What was what about..?" deadpanned Tony

" Don't play coy with me, I've never seen you at a lost for words before, you know what I'm talking about, you and agent David, or Ziva, or whatever her name is."

"Just some, unresolved emotions,"

"Some unresolved emotions my ass,"

"Look, we worked together, she left, I moved on and now she's back, what do you want me to say?"

"There's something more to it,"

"Yeah there was, but now I have someone else in my life."

"Right, Sandra,"

"What happened in that room never leaves your mouth, understood? Or that day at the barbeque goes viral."

Gordon immediately froze.

"Deal,"

"It's good to have leverage," Tony slid his shades back on.

"Ugh,"

Back at NCIS HQ,

Abby was pacing up and down nervously in front of McGee's desk.

"What if something happened to them? What if a giant spider attacked the city and we don't even know?"

"Abby, listen to yourself, you're being ridiculous. Giant spiders don't exist, Gordon and Tony know how look out for themselves. Besides, it's only been two hours, they could be stuck in a jam."

"What if McGee, just what if, they got kidnapped by men in black suits and are being tortured for information?"

Little did Abby know she was somewhat spot on.

Just then, the elevator opened and out came Gordon and Tony, Abby made a mad dash and crashed straight into Tony.

"Tony Tony Tony Tony, I'm so glad you're fine oh my gee I thought a giant spider sttacked the city."

"Nice to see you too Abs," Tony replied lackadaisically.

Abby walked over to Gordon and gave him an awkward hug,

"I'm glad you're fine too."

"Thanks Abby," Gordon gawkily.

Just then, Gibbs stepped out from the elevator and walked towards the two agents, giving them both headslaps.

"Where the hell have you two been?" he demanded.

In MTAC,

"So you're saying you want a collaboration between NCIS and the spec ops division?" reaffirmed Vance

"Indeed Leon, with the strong agents there and my top class team here, I believe our co-hesion can put Brian Jameson away."

"Alright, who's your big gun?"

The camera flipped to Ziva who was sitting beside her boss.

"Hello director Vance," Ziva greeted.

"Agent David!" even the usually unwavered Vance was stunned.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

"So what's up with the houdini act, one minute you decide to stay in Israel, the next you appear back here and leading a team."

"I appreciate the sarcasm director Vance but the explaining can be done later, right now, I need to speak to Gibbs and his team."

Vance raised his eyebrow but complied. "Then excuse me agent David."

Vance stepped out of MTAC and brisk walked towards the team

"Gibbs, there's someone in MTAC that wants to see you and your team,"

Tony flashed Gordon a quick knowing look and Gordon nodded.

"and it's best you call doctor Mallard and Miss Scuito as well. This will be out to shock you."

With that, Vance jogged back up to MTAC and Gibbs assmebled the crew and made their way towards MTAC.

**I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL.**

**Here's where I'll end for now, thanks for all your support and do review, I would appreciate it very much! **

**PS: Next Tuesday the Cote fans will be trying to trend, "#BringBackCote" I don't recommend boycotting the show as the rest of the cast is just as important as Cote is but it would be great if "#BringBackCote" trended! All Cotearmy members please lend your support!**

**Thank you and see you next chapter! **

**-Pinkcatsinspace. **

**PS: It's 12 years for Tony as I fast forwarded this by a year as I mentioned in chapter one that Ziva was gone for a year.**


	3. Chapter 3

**H-how's it going readers,**

**I apologise for the wait! I had to finsh off the rest of my exams and now that it's my vacation, I got a job and hardly have time to write. I apologise in advance for slow updates in the future. :/**

**Let's clear up some things while I'm at it, **

**Sandra is just a rebound girl, Tony just needed someone to cope with the pain of losing Ziva. So there's one thing cleared up. **

**Let's get back to the story now shall we.**

**Over the love: Chapter 3:**

The team slowly filed into the room one by one, a blank feed was on the screen then.

Director Vance started, "You people are in for a big surprise…"

"Surprises? I love surprises! Actually this meeting itself is already a surprise because I was surprised that we were supposed to gather, we hardly do that, so this itself is a surprise…" Abby rambled on

Director Vance cut her off, "Alright Miss Scuito, we didn't come here to idle, I'll give you guys some privacy."

With that, director Vance made a swift and silent exit.

The technician signaled to Gibbs that the feed was online and he gestured for him to turn the feed on.

Once Ziva came on, silence immediately fell in the room.

Gibbs remained stoic but he was taken slighty aback.

McGee just stood there with his jaw hanging.

Ducky jumped for a minute but soon, a wide grin spread across his face.

Palmer mirrored McGee's dismayed expression,

Abby, was naturally the one to break the silence,

"Oh my God are you really Ziva? Our Ziva?! Or are you an imposter? I am highly cynical but I believe in cloning."

"No Abby, I am Ziva David, authentic and alive,"

"Oh My God how do you know nickname?"

"Because I was part of your team."

"Okay now I believe you," Abby replied.

"As director Vance may or may not have mentioned, I am agent David from the spec ops division, NCIS and our divison both have a common person of interest, Brian Jameson, he is one of the divison's most wanted man and he is a suspect at large. My boss and your director have agreed for a collaboration between the two agencies."

Ziva scanned the room and saw Gordon standing at a dark corner of the room she flashed him a slight smile and he returned the gesture, completely disregarding Tony's presence.

Gibbs finally spoke,

"Will do, see you bright and early at nine am agent David."

Ziva nodded and the feed got cut off.

"Well that was certainly interesting," commented Ducky.

"Let's call it a day, grab yer stuff and get out." Gibbs ordered.

The team shuffled down to their resepctive places and headed home for the day.

At Tony's apartment,

Tony dragged his feet into his apartment and yelled, "I'm home!" rather drowsily.

Sandra dashed out from the kitchen and tackled Tony onto the couch,

"Hey babe, I missed you. What took you so long to get back?"

Tony gently shoved her aside and smoothed his hair through with a sigh.

"What's wrong hun? Bad day at work?"

"Yeah, just some old demons back to bite me,"

The smell of tomatoes and herbs wafted into the living room,

"Are you making my favorite ravioli?" Tony asked vivaciously

Sandra nodded her head, "Bingo,"

She dragged him off the couch and towards the dining area.

The next day, 7am,

Ziva was at a nearby park warming up for her daily run, cranked her ipod to a hit by Hadag Nachash, adjusted her orange beanie and started her exercise regimen.

She usually took runs like these in the morning to clear her head, especially today, where her head was swarming with thoughts, so much that she only had three hours of sleep.

She finished off her run with a strong timing and after some more exercises, headed home to freshen up and head to work.

0830 am,

Ziva was at a nearby fruit bar getting herself her usual Berry-mango madness near the office and a banana muffin when she bumped into Ducky having himself a nice stroll.

"Lovely morning isn't it agent David?"

"Yes it is doctor Mallard," she returned politely

"Let's skip the formalities shall we, it makes me feel rather uncomfortable."

Ziva chuckled, "yes, hello Ducky. We meet again."

"How have you been since your disappearing act in Israel my dear girl. All of us missed you dearly. Some of us, more."

Ziva looked down into her cup coyly, "I didn't feel very good about leaving the team Ducky, you of all people should understand, you're a pathologist after all."

"That wasn't what I meant,"replied Ducky

"What's the implication there?" Ziva queried

"Oh, nothing you should bother much with, it's just a gut feeling, something about you and Anthony."

"Tony? And me? There is no Tony and me."

"In denial," Ducky noted

"Oh for heaven's sake Ducky," Ziva sighed

"I look into matters of the brain, not the heart. But this, intrigues me to a large extent." Ducky flashed Ziva a wink and shut the elevator door.

Ziva opened her mouth to say something but the shut elevator faced her. She sighed and headed up the stairs.

0900am,

Team Gibbs were filing in slowly towards the bullpen where they noticed Ziva heading down from the director's office.

She marched into the squad room and greeted,

"Good morning everyone, " she slurped the last of her drink and aimed it into the bin behnid her old desk, noticing that it was still vacant.

"Berry mango madness still, some things never change." Tony mumbled

Gibbs strode in with his coffee and started commanding,

"Get to work, McGee, traffic cams, Dinozzo, check on the Bolos and call Jameson's next of kin, Ford, anything bit of dirt you can get on the guy, dig it out."

"Where do I work?" asked Ziva looking around

Gibbs turned to her and nodded his head towards her old seat,

"No one's using it anyway." Gibbs said

Ziva bit her lip but headed to her old seat. She opened her drawers and was surprised to find that nothing was there, except her Israel flag, even her old picture of college Tony was gone.

Ziva dug into her bag and pulled out her laptop and furiously mashed her keys, soon her typing was in sync with the other agents and she became engrossed in her work.

As the minutes drfited into hours, soon, it was time to call it a day, the team had made some progress, Ducky completed his autopsy and Abby managed to identify the slug that was pulled out from the victim's head which was a model 32 slug.

Unfortunately, Jameson was a hard man to track and it would take some time before they could nab him. He was a pro.

Before the team left, Ziva stood up and announced,

"I'm sure most of you are seeking answers to your burning and unresolved questions, hence, I am inviting everyone for dinner at my place, at nine, take it up or not, whatever floats your ship. I've texted all of you my address."

"Boat," corrected Tony

As if on cue, their cell phones beeped instantaneously.

Ziva shrugged and headed off to the lab and the morgue to extend the invitation to Abby and Ducky.

Once the elevators door shut, Tony spoke up,

"So, anyone going?"

"I am," said McGee, "I'm looking for some answers," McGee made his exit then.

"Boss?"

"Why not?" answered Gibbs. He shut off his desk lamp and headed off.

"Ford?"

"I don't need any answers, besides, I'm having friends over tonight, see you tomorrrow." Ford offered a small wave and scurried off.

That left Tony in the bullpen alone,

"Ah, what the heck," he sent a quick text to Sandra saying he would be home late and rished off.

At Ziva's apartment,

Ziva was in the kitchen busying herself with last minute heating up of food and preparing the dining area when the doorbell rang,

She skipped over to the door and opened it to find McGee and Abby both staring back at her,

"Hey McGee, Abby, come on in," she moved aside to let them come in.

"Oh here, we got you something," he handed her the wine bottle,

She smiled graciously and placed it on her wine rack.

"Nice place, so cozy," commented Abby.

"Thanks," Ziva answered,

Three of them stood awkwardly in the kitchen when the oven timer rang

"Oh, the ravioli is done!" Ziva said.

She scuttled over to oven and pulled out the now heated Ravioli.

"Smells great," remarked McGee

Ziva laughed, "Thanks, but I just learnt how to make raviloi, it might not taste as good as it smells, I've been trying to perfect it for ages now."

The doorbell rang and Ziva answered it, Gibbs, Ducky and Palmer were at the door,

"Hey Ziver,"

"Greetings Ziva."

"Hey Ziva."

They passed a vase of flowers and Ziva took it from them, gently setting it down at her coffee table.

Ziva smiled and thought, "Some things never change."

While the team settked at the dining area, the doorbell rang and Ziva opened it to see Tony.

"Hey Zi. I mean Ziva."

"Hello Tony. I did not think that you would come."

"Well I did, and now I'm here, so are you gonna let me in or let me freeze by the door?"

Ziva stepped aside and Tony stepped in, she felt the butterflies in her tummy and her heart skip a beat as he passed her,

"He still smells like the cologne I got him." She thought.

She shut the door hastily and went to dish out the raviloi she made.

"Wow. Ravioli, what a funny coincidence," Tony commented subtly.

"This ravioli is really good," said Plamer

Ziva was blushing, "No it isn't, I haven't perfected it yet," she replied sheepishly

Tony took a bite into the raviloi and his eyes widened.

"This is really good, It's rhapsody!" he commented.

Ziva's heart skipped another beat,

"W-why thank you Tony." She replied, her face growing red.

"Might be even better than Sandra's." he left that comment to himself

Ziva cleared her throat and everyone looked up from their plates,

"So now, the highly anticipated part, where I explain myself."

Silence descended upon the room.

Ziva looked around anxiously, took a deep breathe and began.

**Not my best I would admit. But I try, so do leave a review!**

**The next chapter will touch on the kiss that Tony and Ziva shared and clear things up a little.**

**See you next chapter!**

**-Pinkcatsinspace**


	4. Chapter 4

**H-how's it going readers,**

**Thanks for all your support last chapter! It really means the world to me, serves as my spring board from my old account and as my motivation to update quickly! **

**Without further ado, I present to you, chapter 4!**

**Over the love: Chapter 4:**

"I wanted to make Gibbs proud, so I decided to stay in Israel and take care of some unfinished business, so I decided that I wanted to restart all over again, give up the badge for good and start afresh, make peace with my past."

"So why're you back here then?" asked Palmer.

"Peace has been made, unfinished business has been finished, I guess I feel…attached, to this country."

There was an awkward slience then. Ziva bit her lip and looked around apprehensively.

"…oh," Abby began.

"Yeah," said Ziva.

"How did you manage to stay off the radar? Let none of us see you then?" Tony asked.

"I'm mossad after all, I can stay hidden as long as I want."

"Either way, it's nice to see you back, my dear." Ducky commented.

Ziva flashed a small smile. The silence beckoned itself again.

Ziva stood up abruptly, "Who's up for some bread pudding?"

Half an hour later, after a house tour,

The previously awkward atomsphere had dissolved away gradually and it was replaced with a somewhat comfortable and casual conversation on what Ziva had missed out on during her absence.

"So what he did was tase McGee and attempt to climb up a building, still thinking he was Spiderman."

The whole team chuckled at that while McGee cleared his throat unnervingly,

"Thanks for that recount, very much appreciated."

Tony gave off one final laugh and added,

"Don't be so hard on yourself McParker, everyone wants to be a super hero."

All of them regained their composure and Gibbs spoke for the first time that night,

"It's getting late, everyone should head back and get some rest, I expect everyone bright and early tomorrow ready to work."

With that, the team got up from their seats and shuffled towards the door,

Abby embraced Ziva in a bear hug,

"Good to have you back, I was afraid I was going to be the only girl power on the team."

Ziva laughed and replied,

"May not be for long, I am still attached to my divison after all."

"We'll see about that," Abby winked and linked arms with McGee

"Thanks for the dinner!" McGee called and waved to Ziva as he was dragged away by Abby.

Ducky and Palmer both shook Ziva's hand

"Great to see you looking ravishing as always," Ducky whispered to Ziva

Ziva returned that with a broad grin

"Always the gentleman you are Ducky," she gave him a light peck on the cheek.

"The dinner was great, nice to see you around again." Said Palmer.

With that, she bid the dynamic duo farewell for the night.

Gibbs walked up to her,

"The meal was great Ziver, nice to see you back and safe."

He embraced her in the most fatherly fashion and boy did Ziva miss his hugs,

"Missed you too Gibbs," she replied while still in his embrace

"Aba's still fine Ziver,"

Ziva was beyond moved, they seperated and he gave her a peck on her forehead.

"Don't ever play houdini with us again, you hear me Ziver?"

She laughed and watched Gibbs speed off in his car.

She turned around and was face to face with Tony.

"Uhm,"

"Yes?" she answered as cooly as possible.

"Do you need help with the dishes?" Tony offered.

Ziva had a dish washer but she didn't want to see Tony go so quick.

"Sure, why not?"

Ziva head towards the dining table with Tony and began gathering up dishes,

Ten minues later,

Both of them had finished the dishes and were lounging on Ziva's couch.

"So, I know we didn't get off to a very good start." Tony began

"Yes we did not," Ziva agreed.

"So I wanna clear the air between us,"

"Is the air not clean?" Ziva asked.

"It's an expression, don't take things so literally." Tony laughed and said.

"Oh I know, I was teasing," she punched him lightly in the arm.

"Did you leave you punch power in Israel? That was hardly your best,"

"Is that a challenge Dinozzo?" Ziva asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Anyday, whenever you got your game face on."

"My game face always on with you around," she retorted and slapped his arm.

It was just like old times wasn't it? The bantering and teasing.

"Anyways, onto serious business, what we had at the airport…"

Ziva flushed a deep red and the room began to escalate naturally in tempertaure.

"Uhm, that…"

"Yeah, that…"

"It was…"

"A moment of impulse," Tony finished.

Ziva was taken aback but she kept her façade on,

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed.

"You were emotionally raw, I was tired and raw, it was an act of impulse,"

"That much we agree on," Ziva lied to herself and to Tony,

Tony's phone rang abruptly

"Excuse me," he pushed himself off the couch and went to answer the call.

"Hey babe, yeah, I'll be home soon, I was at a friend's. Give me another half an hour, love you too." Tony snapped his phone shut.

Ziva had heard the converstaion and felt her heart sink a little. Okay, a lot.

Tony walked back to the couch,

"Sorry, girlfrined issues, which reminds me, I would like you to meet Sandra one day, she's absolutely lovely and makes the best Ravioli."

"What's with you and Ravioli?" Ziva attempted to joke.

Tony was already halfway to the door, Ziva scurried to bid him farewell.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow,"

"Yeah, see you."

Tony flashed her one of his charming smiles and left.

Ziva shut the front door and sank down,

"Stupid me, thinking that I'd still have chance, don't be such an idiot Ziva." She thought.

She was close to tears, that kiss had meant so much more than he made it sound, she was a little shattered, but tomorrow she had to go in and play the part of the strong, grounded agent.

She got up and headed towards her bathroom for a shower.

At approximately 23:30,

Tony was lying in bed, although his fingers were laced with Sandra's, his mind was drifted elsewhere.

All that he said about the kiss, was he lying to himself? Tony thought,

He had Sandra now, but was Sandra just a rebound? Is Ziva something more?

His head was swarming with these thoughts, he decided that a good night's rest would take his mind off things and forced himself to sleep.

The next day,

Ziva jogged into the bullpen all freshened up and ready to work, forgetting about the previous night's events.

As she was the first one there, she decided to get a head start on looking at some files.

At around 9'o clock, the rest of team Gibbs started filing in, Gibbs with his coffee, McGee and Tony arguing and Gordon looking a little hungover.

Ziva was leaning back in her chair taking a call from her agency when Gibbs stood up brusquely.

"Dead marine in Quantico, grab yer gear," Gibbs barked.

Tony and McGee struggled with grabbing their backpacks while Gordon already had his and was jogging towards the elevator.

The two other goons followed suit and Gibbs tossed the keys to Ziva,

"Welcome back to the field, you're driving."

Ziva grinned and heard Tony and McGee groanning.

"It can't be that bad…can it?" Ford tried.

"Prepare to be in a world of hurt probie." Tony replied.

Approximately 15 minutes later,

Gordon's head was spinning and he was staggering,

"As if the hangover part one wasn't enough, the car ride had to aggravate it and give me the part two sequel." Gordon commented.

Ziva was striding towards the crime scene with a jump in her step. She hadn't driven (or drifted rather) in the NCIS vehicle for so long, going over the speed limit seemed to be fine by her. The adrenaline was pulsating through her veins.

"Ford, bag and tag, McGee, witness statements, Dinozzo, sketch and photos, Ziver you're with me."

The team set out to work and Ziva trailed obediently behind Gibbs.

Gibbs sighted Ducky and headed towads the medical examiner.

"Good day Jethro, agent David."

Gibbs and Ziva nodded in return

"What'd ya got?"

"Same MO, the weather is terribly hot, affecting decompostion rate and making it harder to determine a time of death, cleaned spick and span this body."

Gibbs sighed in exasperation,

"So we got nothing basically,"

"I wouldn't say nothing, the killer left this behind."

Ducky handed a slip of red paper to Gibbs, it read,

"Ready for your first clue? Time to play agent David. Keep your eyes peeled."

Ziva was silent for a while. The she took the paper from Gibbs and re read it.

Ziva flipped it to the other side and found a link neatly scribbled onto the paper.

"Huh," Ziva scoffed, "does he think this is a game!?" she snapped.

"It is to him now." Gibbs replied.

**Wow this chapter sucks but I did the best I could, if there's any questions you guys want me to answer, feel free to PM me or tumblr message or tweet me. Reviews and more follows would be sick!**

**See you next chapter! **

**-Pinkcatsinspace**


	5. Chapter 5

**H-how's it going readers,**

**The support for this story continues to compell me to no end, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and the follows that continue to escalate. It really means a lot to me. **

**Loooong time since I updated yes I know, time is hard to get on my side these days, balancing a job and regular day activities. Being a working class teenager is harder than I thought.**

**NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR LIFE PHOEBE. Haha**

**So without further ado, here it is.**

**Over the love: Chapter 5**

As soon as team Gibbs stepped foot into the bullepen, all of them sprung into action. Tony was checking up on their latest victim, McGee tracking trafic cams and sending out BOLOS and Ford, well, he was out getting the donuts and coffee.

Ziva slid into her old desk and booted up her computer, swiped out the blood-stained paper and began punching in the link onto her web engine.

Once she hit enter, as if on cue, her desktop went blank.

"Ben Zona, what in hell's name?" she started hitting her keys furiously.

Just then, Gibbs promenaded into the bullpen.

"Boss, Ziva decided to start playing tap tap on her keyboard." Tony badgered.

"Shut it Dinozzo," Ziva retorted.

McGee strolled over to Ziva's desk and fiddled around with her keys.

"Nadda, nothing's working." Said McGee.

All of a sudden, Ziva's desktop powered up again with a new folder on her screen.

Ziva raised an eyebrow and gave McGee a look.

McGee nodded and Ziva proceeded to open the folder. Tony and Gibbs walked over to Ziva's desk and all eyes were glued to her screen.

A video began playing.

First, black roses danced around in the screen and began to wilt one by one with a distorted music playing in the background, then the screen flashed a deep red, and splattered across the screen, then shots of what appeared to be a military warfield with soldiers ran across the screen. A loud, "boom", went off and Ziva's monitor read,

"Self delete in 3, 2, 1," And her screen flashed back to normal.

There was a loud silence that elapsed amongst the four agents.

"…what…?" began Tony.

Gibbs spoke up, "McGee, send that to the lab for Abby, maybe she could…"

"Boss,"

"What McGee?" Gibbs snapped

"The file, it's gone."

McGee was typing furiously on Ziva's keyboard,

"Someone must've encoded a firewall breach into the link, it takes some skill to over ride NCIS' firewall," McGee stood in thought.

"Well, does anyone remember anything from that video?" Tony asked

"I remember, black roses, wilting, blood, and a what appears to be a military warfield." McGee replied.

"Shit," Ziva swore in English (it's been a while)

"What is it Ziver?" Gibbs asked

"Black roses, war field, could this be it?" she thought to herself

"Ziver talk to me," Gibbs tried.

"I need to call my boss, this requires some level of clearence before we dig deeper," she simply replied.

She pushed herself off her desk and moved to a quiet spot to make her call, briefly brushing past Tony and secretly taking in his colonge.

The three agents stood and stared at Ziva,

Gordon rushed out of the elevator comically with two boxes of donuts and balancing 4 cups of coffee atop the boxes.

He staggered for a while and finally deposited the coffee and donuts on his desk.

He sighed and began, "So, what did I miss?"

Half an hour later,

Ziva was in director Vance's office discussing about the video and the office was on total lockdown while the three musketeers (Tony, McGee and Gordon) were pacing around outside the office besides the receptionist unrelentlesly telling them to leave.

Tony decided to pull the old, put-your-ear-on-the-door to try and eavesdrop.

Soon, the trio were one atop of the other in a rather animated fashion trying to listen in.

"McGoo scooch over to the left a little, my neck's cramping up,"

"Well it would help if you weren't at the top," McGee retorted

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Tony snapped.

"You did have an extra donut!"

"Who's hand is on my ass?!" exclaimed Gordon.

Their tower started to sway and wobble as they continued bickering with each other, the door opened and the three of them collasped into a heap of limbs entwined into a complicated manner.

Ziva had to hold back her laughter and she turned away. Gibbs walked in and saw his three agents atop of each other.

"Glad to see you getting familiar with each other as a team," commented Vance as he nodded towards Tony's hand on Gordon's butt.

Gibbs tapped his foot impatiently and Ziva's cheeks were puffed as she continued to hold back her laughter.

A few minutes later,

Team Gibbs were assembeled in director Vance's office, a briefing was going on.

"I connected the spots together, black roses, military warfield, and I figured out, he was talking about operation black rose."

"Dots, connected the dots," Tony corrected

"They are all circular, yes?" Ziva answered.

"She's gotta point," agreed Gibbs.

"Operation black rose? I…I don't know what that is." Gordon said

"None of you do," replied Vance. "It was a high level mission that was never to be brought up upon completion."

"Why not?" asked McGee

"None of you at this table have the authorisation to know, all you need to know is that this mission was cleared and it was supposed to stay hidden, any shred of detail about this op was disposed and cleared of." Vance answered

"Why's it resurfacing now?" asked Gordon.

"That is what, we need answers to," Ziva responded.

"So, let's go talk to some of the guys who were part of this op." Tony suggested.

Ziva shot director Vance a look, and he nodded.

"None of them survived the op…" Ziva stated slowly.

McGee's eyes widened, "Not even a single person?!"

Ziva shook her head.

"The base was bombed, anyone in the vincinity would've been dead in an instant."

"So basically, what you're saying is, we don't have anything to go on?" Gibbs finally spoke.

"I'm trying to access whatever the spec ops have about it, but that's going to take a while. Meanwhile, let's call it a day," Ziva announced.

The team filed down back to the bullpen after bididng director Vance goodbye.

Someone was waiting by Tony's desk.

"Tony! I missed you!" Sandra yelled as Tony approached.

Ziva immediately went stiff. Tony went to her and gave her a hug as she pecked him on the cheek,

"Oh Ziva! I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Sandra Blaire,"

Sandra held out her hand and Ziva returned the gesture with a shake,

"Nice to meet you, I'm…"

"Ziva David, I know exactly who you are," Sandra eyed Ziva superciliously while Tony wasn't looking.

"Ready to go babe?" Tony asked.

"Whenever you are," she switched back to sweetheart mode.

"It was an absolute pleasure meeting you Ziva! I'll be seeing you around." She gave the most pretentious smile in the history of pretentious.

Ziva forced a smile back, and they were off.

Abby was walking out of the elevator when she saw Sandra and Tony heading off, she said goodbye and walked over to the bullpen.

"Calling it a day?" asked Abby.

"Yeah," Ziva responded dejectedly.

"You know, I never saw those two together. I'll always root for Tiva."

"What…?"

"Never mind, you wanna go grab a bite? I am starving." Abby asked

"I don't see why not," Ziva replied.

"Great, I'll grab my things and meet you at the parking lot."

Ziva nodded and Abby gambolled off back to her lab.

Ziva sighed and began gathering her stuff.

Unaware that Gordon was listening in the whole time, he approached her slowly.

"From the first time I saw you and agent Dinozzo, I knew something was up."

She turned around swiftly,

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play coy with me, I'm might act a little silly around here but I know chemistry when I see it."

Ziva laughed, "You continue to amuse me agent Ford, goodnight."

She continued laughing and walked off.

Meanwhile,

Jameson just laid the last rose in his newest victims hand, he flipped out his disposable cell phone and received a text.

"They know. –Badria"

Jameson flashed a smile and talked to his victim,

"Thanks to you, they'll get my message soon."

He slid a piece of paper into one of the roses after scribbling a quick note.

In Tony's car,

Sandra put her cellphone into her bag.

"So, you guys don't know much about operation black rose?"

"Yeah, but we don't have the clearance to access most of the files, and anything with regards to the op has been destroyed, as if the op never happened."

"That's a shame isn't it?"

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll find something to work with,"

"I know you will," Sandra flashed a smile at Tony and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

At another part of town,

Abby was dragging a hopelessly drunk Ziva out of a bar.

"Bad idea," she thought to herself as she bit her lip

Ziva was laughing hysterically as Abby drove Ziva home.

She helped Ziva up to her apartment, found her spare key and got Ziva on her couch.

"Good luck waking up Ziva." Abby whispered.

Just before she left, she heard Ziva's soft mumbles,

"Tony, I missed you too, that kiss meant so much more. Don't go…"

"Geez, she sounds so heart broken." Abby thought.

She let herself out after leaving a pack of asprin at her coffee table.

"Tiva for the win," Abby said and did a small fist pump.

**That's all for now, usual procedure, reviews and follows would be awesome!**

**I would like to bring up an issue, you can skip this portion if you want, just some ranting about Cote's departure**

**I know that some NCIS fans out there watch the show for all the characters, but not for some of us, I personally watched it for Ziva, Tiva development and Tony and the cases that come along with it, because I was so caught up in CSI:NY previously and my favortite left and I was trying to move on. So you can't blame me if I decide to stop watching NCIS can you?**

**NCIS is a wide fanbase, and I do not wish ill of it or of Emily Wickersham (Is that how you spell it?) and I do hope it contiues to blossom.**

**It's just too painful to watch a 'Cote-less" NCIS. **

**So I don't think all the hoo ha about how people are being unloyal or untrue fans is necessary. It's how people react and respond to ceratin things.**

**If Cote does come back, I would love to see Bishop still have her place on the team, one day maybe. **

**Also, I don't approve with the hate being circulated around the fandom and it's cast. Let's all be nice here and respect each other's opinions.**

**With that, see you next chapter!**

**-Pinkcatsinspace**


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